We have just had the driest July for 190 years. Whatever your day-to-day looks like in Bristol, this unrelenting heat will undoubtedly have made its presence known.
For us in Carla’s team, it’s been eye-opening to read correspondence from constituents about how the heat disproportionately impacts those already struggling. Whether that’s those living in poor-quality housing, those having trouble accessing NHS services, or those unable to get to a green space.
The grim reality is that these are likely to be some of the least extreme summer temperatures any of us will see in our lifetimes. Clearly, climate change isn’t something that’s coming over the horizon; it’s here, putting lives and livelihoods at risk. If we’re to avoid even more catastrophic effects, something has to change, and that needs to start with bold political leadership to give voice to the 68% of people who want the government to do more to tackle the climate crisis.
That’s why Green Party leader Zack Polanski called an emergency press briefing in the first week of August. In a ten-minute address, carried live by Sky News and online, Zack laid out the impact extreme heat is having up and down the country and challenged the government to act with the urgency that we need.
Among the speakers that joined Zack to share their frontline experience was Bristol GP Dr Veena Aggarwal. She spoke clearly and movingly about the pressure NHS services in our region and across the country face in these temperatures; how ambulance teams are stretched to breaking point by the volume of call-outs, and how equipment in operating theatres is rendered unusable because even inside hospitals the temperatures are too high. “The climate crisis is a health crisis,” she said.
Her testimony, alongside that of a London fireman, a former soldier and the broadcaster and campaigner Chris Packham, highlighted the true cost of inaction paid by ordinary people. Prime Minister Andy Burnham had to take notice.
A week later, he took a first step toward action and convened an emergency ‘COBRA’ meeting on extreme heat. But we need more than meetings. We need to tax fossil fuel giants to pay for firefighting helicopters and government support to create safe, cool spaces in our communities. The government must also emphatically rule out any new drilling for oil and gas, including at the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields.
This summer Bristol’s Green-led council announced it will endorse a charter recognising that the river Avon has rights to health and vitality – a huge milestone in bringing this waterway back to full ecological health. This is a testament to how people in our region already understand and recognise the inviolable relationship between people and planet. The more loudly this message reaches the ears of government, the harder it will be to ignore.
• Carla is currently taking a leave of absence for health reasons but her constituency office is functioning as usual. If you live in Bristol Central and need help with a local issue please continue to email bristolcentraloffice@parliament.uk or write to Carla Denyer MP, House of Commons,